Tuesday, December 23

0 miles driven, 5.6 miles walked

All day in Las Vegas.  We were awake early but dawdled a bit watching CNBC, checking email, etc. before heading downstairs to the buffet that Bob has been dreaming about.   At 7:40, we had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated, it opens at 7a and the place was in full swing with huge hams and slabs of bacon being sliced, omelettes being made to order, crepe line about 10 deep…. it is an astounding array of choices.  About 20 different kinds of pastries, bagels, breads; yogurts, fresh fruit; all sorts of potato variations, ditto eggs and breakfast meats; huge selection of cheeses….. and it all looks really good and fresh, not the stereotype that people (um, me) have about buffets.  You might think $20.99 would be wasted on me but fear not, I ate my weight in smoked salmon and white fish.  Along with some goat cheese, housemade almost-see-through lavosh that had seeds on it like an everything bagel, cucumbers, tomatoes, chopped red onion, capers, lemon wedges.  Heaven.  Bob had some potatoes lyonnaise, scrambled eggs with diced ham, a bit of keilbasa and a biscuit.  We both had some fruit (pineapple, cantalope, honeydew).  And then he stood in the crepe line and came back with this:

And he said, “This stays in Vegas.”

We went upstairs to prepare for our day: Bob to play Texas Hold ’em at the Bellagio across the street and me to do some window shopping and people watching and walking.  Another sunny day in the mid-60s.  I went down to the Wynn and tried to get a ticket for the Jeff Koons Tulips exhibit but it was booked til 6:15 so just went across the street to the Fashion Show Mall.  Unbelievable.  It has Nordstrom, Saks, Neiman Marcus, Dillards and Macys.  Plus something like 200 other stores.  I got turned around so many times!  Across the street in the Venetian are Dior, Celine, Fendi, Chanel…. tons of Europeans and Asians.  Also tons of families with mutliple generations and kids of all ages.  Bob and I texted each other throughout the day.   “Are you hungry?” “No. You?”  “Me neither.”  “I am up $110.” “You doing ok?” “Yep only up $40 though.”  “I am heading back to the room.  You can keep playing if you want.” “Will meet you in the room soon.”  It took me about 40 minutes to walk back, dodging slow pokes and people walking 4-5-6 abreast.  Saw ‘Elvis’ dragging his wheelie to work.  He was HUGE.  Feet looked like Shaq, big black shaggy long wig, black shirt open to his navel (oh, my eyes).  Didn’t have the heart/guts to snap a photo though others had no qualms.

We found each in the room within minutes of each other.  I logged 5.6 miles basically window shopping  — we had already done 3/4 of a mile just going down to breakfast and back.  Bob won $270!  We decided to change and head to our favorite place for a late lunch / early dinner.  There was no one at the Mon Ami Gabi bar when we sat down about 4p.  We had another wonderful woman tending bar, Adrian, who took car of us for the next 2-1/2 hours we sat there.  Started with an appetizer of warm goat cheese and marinara sauce with a big slice of garlic toast and a warm baguette.  Bob’s Chivas, my dirty — with a blue cheese stuffed olive.  YUM.   Next we split a ceasar salad.  Ordered a glass each of Hob Nob Pinot Noir.  Meanwhile Adrian had us rolling off the stools telling us about the (freaky) women groupies who followed Barry Manilow during his run at Paris.  There was a core gang of about 20 who all knew each other but hated each other.  They would hang out in the bar drinking water waiting for him to appear after his show.  Some of them flew out from NY every weekend!!  There were ‘rules’:  some of them wouldn’t approach him and were disdainful of those in their midst who asked for an autograph or a photo.  It was hilarious.  Bob ordered the steak frites and I ordered the mussels with a side of roasted Brussels sprouts.  The mussels are served with a mass of melted fennel and onions on top.  So so good!!  We ended with a glass of a Bourgogne Supérieur.  Another great evening with tons of laughs.  We are already planning next year’s trip……

Monday, December 22

248 miles

Lone Pine to Las Vegas (395 to 190 to NV 373 to Hwy 95)

What a spectacular, full and fun day!

We were both wide awake at 4:30a.  We turned on the news and started our day on computers and whatnot.  Showered, packed up and checked out and headed to the Alabama Hills Cafe (#1 rated restaurant by Trip Advisor…. just saying).  Here is the beauty of Mt Whitney and the Southern Sierras at 6:55am and 36* taken from the parking lot of the motel.

We were the first people in the Alabama Hills Cafe.  Bob had two eggs over hard with the yolk cracked, bacon, hash browns and wheat toast.  I was going to have the same with obvious variations: tomatoes instead of potatoes, no meat, give Bob my toast blah blah UNTIL I heard that one of the daily specials was a two-egg scramble with asparagus, tomatoes, spinach, onions and mushrooms.  Uh, duh.  It came with fruit and toast; I chose jalapeno bread — all made that evening/ morning.  The photo does not at all do justice to the flavors.

The jalapeno toast was beautiful texture but didn’t have much jalapeno so I only had a bite.  I had a bite of Bob’s toast which was wonderfully hot and toasty and buttery.  I ate every bit of my eggs and fruit.  I got an oatmeal cookie to go ….which I forgot about in the glovebox….

Here is a photo from the street corner when we walked to get a coffee to go. Gorgeous, right???

We turned left onto Hwy 190 to head into Death Valley, leaving these moutains behind.

Military jets have permission to use Saline and Panamint Valleys to use as practice.  Seeing one would have made a perfect day better.

These are more shots of our gorgeous drive.

A FAT coyote by the side of the road!

We stopped at Furnace Creek Resort which is a little oasis in the desert and has been there since the 1920s.

We thought about having lunch there but it was too early and we weren’t hungry. Then Bob got the brilliant idea of going to a bbq place that we had seen on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in northern Las Vegas.

We had an easy drive out of Death Valley with one sad spot.  At Death Valley Junction was /is the Amargosa Opera House, where Marta Becket performed.  In the day it was quite the destination resort for people from LA and Las Vegas.  When Bob and I first were there together, about 12 years ago, her longtime partner (lover?) in the operation and performances had passed the night before.  Then people were still staying at the hotel and she was performing.  When we drove by this time, the whole place was totally abandoned and decrepit.  The web site for the hotel and opera house is not up to date but it seems the wikipedia post might be.  If so, she is 90 years old…. It made us both sad to see another piece of history abandoned.

We drove by Area 51 and I said, ‘Honey what kind of a plane is that?’   Bob:  “IT’S A DRONE! That is what drops those bombs!”  Two seconds later he whips around 180* in the driver’s seat and yells, “There is another one just taking off!! TWO DRONES!”   They are pretty damn cool!

So we plug John Mull’s Meat Market and Road Kill Grill into Gladys (the GPS).  We are taken to a very residential part of Las Vegas and think, Oh Gladys f’d up…. BUT no.  We drive into this:

And we see this:

 Inside there is a retail counter on the right which was a dozen deep with people picking up orders.  On the left is the bbq line.  Check it out here.  Bob had the hot link dinner which came with two sides, he got baked beans and maccaroni salad; I got the pulled pork sandwich with a side of collard greens.  We also ordered a filet roast for Christmas dinner, 2 lbs at $24.95/lb.  Absolutely gorgeous!

Before photos (we also got a side of Hot BBQ sauce which was addictive and delicious on Every. Thing.):

Pulled pork, not at all fatty but juicy and tender ($6.50).

Beans, greens and bbq sauce.

Hot links and mac salad ($10).

 And the after… all the pulled pork: gone.  All the collard greens (no bacon in them but definitely something was in there was cooked in bacon…. ): gone.  BBQ sauce: mostly gone.

Hot links dinner: sort of gone.  Forgot it also came with corn bread.  They were two BIG links:

It was 73*, sunny and pretty breezy and we were eating outside on Dec 22.  It was fantastic.  We watched people loading sides of beef into their trucks.  It was so delicious and clearly has a devoted following.  Neither one of us will go back to Las Vegas without going there.

From there we went to Paris… checked in about 2p.  The rooms are really nice:

We unpacked, checked email, cleaned up …. and headed out for a cocktail.  Our plan was to go to one of the old downtown steakhouses, around Fremont Street.  We had a couple of recommendations and had made (and cancelled) a few different reservations.  On a whim, we went up to the bar in the Eifel Tower (I know; it seems so cheesy but it really is a nice hotel… ).  What a find!  It was just about sunset, great bar, wonderful bartender (Paige) NO ONE at the bar but lots of people already eating dinner.  Pretty spendy for dinner — entrees $32-80 for the porterhouse (for one, not two).  Excellent ‘grown up’ cocktails ($16).  We started talking to Paige and told her where we going for dinner.  “You can’t go there! They were in Dirty Dining last week!”  I get on Open Table App and cancel our reservation while Bob is asking for her recommendations.   She had two: The Steakhouse in Circus Circus and Echo & Rig which is owned by a butcher and his wife who is the baker. There is a butcher shop attached, downstairs.  Since we had been already lucky that day with a meat market/restaurant combo, we went with that.  Also she said it was a favorite of local chefs.  And that it was about a $25 cab ride.  We were in.

As we are in the cab and the meter is clicking Bob is saying, “That is a steak in a cheap place”.  Click.  “That is a steak in a pretty good place”.  Click.  “That is a steak in a really good place”.  Click.  “That is a steak in Whatshisname’s place” (Gordon Ramsey has his restaurant in the Paris).  By the time we got to the restaurant it was $50.   The restaurant was wonderful.  It was modern but not cold and very busy with what definitely looked like locals.  We were there at about 7:30.  We could not stop laughing about the cab ride.  Who are these people called Bob and Sharon who take cabs for $50??   There was a sommelier who introduced our waiter to us.  We rolled our eyes a bit at each other but were still laughing at the absurdity of traveling so far when there are about 10000 restaurants within walking distance of our hotel…  Bob:  “How was that $50 Cab?”  “Oh, I just sat there….”.

Our waiter brought up the tray of Off Menu cuts of meat that were impressive and would have been tempting if we hadn’t been to Road Kill Grill for lunch.  There was a tomahawk porterhouse that was served to the six people next to us… cooked on the bone, sliced up and placed back around the bone….nice.   Bob ended up ordering from the menu: the ribeye cap and a baked potato with horseradish cream sauce.  We split a ceasar salad and I ordered the fried spinach salad and a side of roasted cauliflower with chilis — knowing I would get a few bits of Bob’s ribeye.   The ceasar was perfect with crisp leaves, a touch of anchovy in the dressing and shards of dry parmesan.  The fried spinach salad:  a mound of flash fried spinach that had a soy dressing drizzled on it and some bits of chilis, broccoli and cauliflower florets mixed in.  Bob even loved it!  The cauliflower was browned and the red chilis were toasted.  I piled some of the spinach into it and gobbled up every bite.  Bob’s ribeye was one of the most flavorful pieces of meat ever.  Bob had a steak knife but I was able to cut it like butter with just a table knife.  The ribeye came with garlic chips (can’t even describe but super thin crispy garlic goodness)  and a mushroom cap stuffed with spicy more mushroom stuff that I ate since I am fortunate to be married to a man who gives me most of his plate accoutrements.  We had a bottle of Pinot from Monterey County and then a glass of Zin (Bob chose… I can’t remember but it was all good .. and we were taking a CAB!!)

Speaking of cabs… we went downstairs to the valet station to get a cab.  We waited.  And waited.  And while we waited Robin Leach (Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.. ) came down to get his car.  While the one valet ran to get it, the other valet said, under his breath, “Do you know who that is?  Robin Leach.”  Me: “He’s still alive??”  Valet: “He’s a dick.”  We burst out laughing, as we have been laughing All.  Night.   Valet: “And he was here with someone not his wife.”

If I had a real following on this blog I could get some ink!!!

Finally the cab came after about 20 minutes. He was an entertaining guy and was laughing with us about the distance but appreciated our ‘adventurous nature’.  LOL.  When he heard where we were from he assumed we were potheads.  No but our dog was.. stories, stories.  The cab ride back to the hotel was $60.  hahahaha.   So we get upstairs and Bob says, “So, sweetheart, how did you like that $110 Cab?”  “Oh I just sat there…”.

Sunday, December 21

390 miles

Novato to Lone Pine (Hwy 37 to 80E to 16 to 49 to 88 to 395)

We drove out of the driveway at 7:42a.  I had coffee and yesterday’s WSJ, Bob had on ESPN, lovely sunrise over the Bay as we were going over the Petaluma River Bridge and zero traffic!

We made excellent time — an hour and 10 minutes to Sacramento and 3-1/2 hours to Caples Lake — which is only partially frozen over.

It was pretty warm most of the way– mid-50s — and overcast/ foggy — especially through Sacramento.  We stopped in Volcano so Bob could get a donut at 4 Star Donuts.  It smelled really good in there!  The handwritten sign on the door said:  Open Christmas Day! Lights on at 4:30am!   We were fifth in line and the other four people all got a dozen.  Bob got a chocolate covered twist for $1. Next stop was outside of Pioneer at a funny cafe slash antique shop — or shoppe — that had ‘espresso’ on their highway sign.  The proprietors were an odd mother and son (I hope…?) and the son (“our barrista!” said ‘Mom’ proudly who was drinking out of a very large — grande? super grande? — Starbucks cup with a majenta lipstick smear on the lid…. )  made us two tasty Americanos for $4 and they had a clean bathroom — with the added bonus of a display of cut glass items for sale.

There was snow at about 7000 feet and it became very misty/foggy but the temperature only got down to 41*.  Several cars with skis on top were going in the opposite direction so it must have been pretty sloshy.  We made really great time and crossed the Nevada state line on 88 at exactly 11:42; four hours after we left the house.  That side of Carson Pass, after Hope Valley, is still very dry.

Here is Bob’s sign at mile 89 on 395, just past the Sonora Pass cutoff.

We never had breakfast (Bob didn’t even eat the donut right away) because we were both full from the delicous dinner at our wonderful neighbors so we stopped in Bridgeport for a bite.  We wanted to go to The Barn, good burgers and Mexican street cart food, but it was closed and Hayes Street Grill, an excellent breakfast and lunch place, was closed… so we ended up at the Rhino which would always be our third or last choice turns out to be the only restaurant open for the winter.  Bob had grilled ham and cheese and fries and I had a cup of (good!) chili and part of a Pale Ale.  It hit the spot.  So sad though how the town just closes up in winter.  We were the only people there until another couple came in just as we were leaving.

I drove the rest of the way to Lone Pine.  We were sad to see that Rossi’s Restaurant in Big Pine is for sale and looked like it is closed.  We used to stay in a dump (D U M P!) of a motel across the street just to go there for dinner.  It was very old school with very good, not ‘gourmet’ food that was very reasonably priced — salads made tableside, good steaks, baked potatoes, Italian specialities, everything arrived on a cart served either by the main waitress or her daughter.  There was a full bar attached and all the regulars brought in Fritos or little bites and shared with whomever, even strangers.  But the real draw was the piano player who was a relative of the owners, a troubled maybe disabled young man who was desperately shy if you tried to engage him but could play anything!  From Disney musicals to Sinatra to opera.  He had stacks and stacks of sheet music so when someone made a request, he would dig through his stacks and play whatever.   There was a terrible fire in Big Pine in early spring of 2011 and many of the houses were wiped out.  We made a point of staying there that summer just to be supportive.  The bartender was one of the people who lost his house and told us he, as well as most of the others, had no insurance.  He had had an extensive collection of ancient handmade Indian baskets that was destroyed.  It was heartbreaking.  We guess the town never has recovered.

In Lone Pine we checked into the Best Western Frontier Motel.  It is a ’50s? ’60s? style motor inn with large-ish updated rooms (good linen, no gross bedspreads, sanitized everything).  This area was where most of the early Westerns were filmed in the Alabama Hills which when you drive through the same hills today, look just like those movies.  There is a film history museum that is a MUST SEE if you have ever enjoyed or even seen a John Wayne/ Gene Autry/ name anyone movie.   The first time we stayed here was in 2002 and Sierra was 5 months old.  We had made last minute reservations and got the John Wayne Suite which meant photos of him were everywhere.  It was pretty cool.   It was one of the largest hotel rooms we’ve ever had in terms of square footage; two king beds and tons of empty floor space.  Sierra learned to jump from bed to bed and we cried with laughter watching her; the more we laughed, the more she did it.

We unloaded what we needed from the car (Christmas cards to send!!!), watched the highlights of the football games and decided to venture out to the town’s only bar, the Double L, to see the start of the Arizona-Seattle game before dinner.  It was closed.  We crossed the street to another bar and were told by the rather surly bartender that they only had wine and beer.  It seems the owner of the LL had sold his license (to a guy in Bishop) and retired.  So the only full bar in a town of 2000 people is at Season’s Restaurant, which is closed til Dec 26 (more on this later).  We asked what wine he served: Woodbridge White, Merlot and White Zin.  We asked what beer he had: Coors, Bud Light.  We looked at each other.   We said ‘Thank you, sir’ and left.  BECAUSE.:  not only do we have a case of wine with us and a bottle of sparkling — because you never know.  But I brought little bottles of Chivas and Absolut Vodka that my brother Dennis had given us as stocking stuffers at last year’s very bittersweet Christmas.  We went across the street to the Bi-Rite to buy a little jar of olives and toothpicks.  We went back to our room, got ice from the machine, made our drinks in plastic cups and watched football until dinner.  Cheers!!

After dinner Bob said “How are you going to write about this??? It’s a whole damn entry by itself.”  So here goes.   When we planned this trip, one of the reasons we wanted to stay in Lone Pine was so we could go to Season’s for dinner.  It is an excellent restaurant even compared to Marin  or SF but exceptional for Lone Pine.  When I called to make reservations, we were distressed to learn they are closed from today until Dec 26th.  When I was searching ‘restaurants Lone Pine’ I discovered that Season’s is only #3 as rated in Trip Advisor.  Merry-Go-Round is #2.  What the what???  We had been to Merry-Go-Round on our first visit, 2002.  It is indeed round.  And small, maybe six booths around the edge and more tables in the middle to seat a dozen people in various configurations. The first time, there was a model train going around the edge of the ceiling and while the ‘American’ food of steaks, baked potatoes, trout, etc was quite good, the ambience/decor was a bit of a turn-off.   The owners at that time were an ancient couple who had been dancers in Hollywood and part of the movie extras when Lone Pine was a movie town and they decided to retire here.  The restaurant was as much a hobby as their model train.  Bob ate there in 2009 when he was on his way to meet me in Las Vegas for the United Football League Championship Game at Thanksgiving.  He ate there because…. Season’s was closed.  Enjoyed his steak but ….     So this time we made reservations sort of knowing what we were in for.  I carried a good bottle of zin in my bag.  Turns out the new owners, also a husband and wife, have the two original Mexican cooks from the old owners as well as a woman chef from Taiwan.   All three have taught each other their specialties so everyone can cook everything.  The owner was very proud and cute telling us all this.  So there is the “American” menu and the completely separate “Chinese” menu (both labeled as such).  Of course, I was intriqued…. and ordered a small hot and sour soup and the teriyaki rice bowl.  Bob ordered the ribeye, baked potato and green salad.  We ordered a glass of chardonnay each to be polite before we opened the Old Vin Zin from Lodi.  The chardonnay wasn’t terrible (La Playa??) but not good.  The soup, on the other hand, was fan-f’ing-tastic.  Seriously. I swear they used beef bones for the broth it was so richly dark but maybe it was just a bunch of soy sauce?  It wasn’t salty thought and had a good amount of ginger and chilis.  It was also huge.  At least a quart arrived at the table.  Bob’s green salad was full of cucumbers, mushrooms, decent tomatoes, some grated parmesan and garbanzo beans.  His ribeye was also huge and correctly medium rare. Besides the potato it was served with perfectly al dente green beans, broccoli and zucchini — sounds weird but it worked.  My teriyaki bowl.  As I expected/ feared, the teriyaki was overwhelming but it was only on the chicken which was just sitting on top so I scraped all of it off and was left with a bowl of rice and TONS of excellent snap peas, broccoli, zucchini, onions, fennel, and cabbage.  Those cooks know how to cook some veg!  I added a bunch of the homemade chili paste (HOT!!!), dabbed into the teriyaki and was in heaven.  Bob agreed it was a good bowl.  I just wish I could have taken the leftovers because there were a ton.  We each had a glass of the zin — smokey and full — and corked it up to take back to the room.  Weird but great dinner!!  Atmosphere is still a bit funny/oftputting but there were at least a half dozen people coming in for take-out chinese while we were there so clearly they figured out a good sustainable business, in a town that is on the down slope not the up.  And they are pretty charming people.

Bob played soduko and watched Prometheus while I typed and had a glass of zin.  It was a very good day.

Bye bye sweet little deer (others were on the side of the house).

When we decide to move on, we can move.  We were up just before 7a and packed up and driving out of the driveway to Trinks and the rental agency by 8:05.  I packed up the kitchen while Bob was in the shower and then he started loading everything when it was my turn.   Seemed to go very quickly.   It rained another inch plus or minus overnight and the wind was much stronger.

At Trinks we got scones and coffee again… this time I got a pumpkin cranberry and Bob got raspberry.  We both ate most….   The place was full!  And the food going by and being consumed around us looked so good and is so fresh.  We like that they serve Flying Goat Coffee which is where Bob goes in Santa Rosa on his way to work every day.  We were headed down Hwy 1 to home at 9:05.

Very uneventful ride with intermittent mist and showers.  It is such a gorgeous drive!

There was some sort of mishap at the high point above Jenner with a CHP officer and a Sheriff, lights blazing, looking down the cliff to the sea.  Two more emergency vehicles passed us going North within the next 15 minutes or so….  Scary.

Made it home by 11:30.  We also got about two inches of rain at home.  Yay!  More rain!  More rain!  And the hills in West Marin seemed much greener than they were even on Wednesday.

Unloaded the car, put everything away and I got on the elliptical while the first load of laundry was in. Have to start somewhere.

Truly a wonderful weekend.

We were showered, dressed for a hike and on our way to Trinks by 7:30a.  We got coffee and fresh-baked scones (ginger for Bob, pumpkin and pecan for me).  We stopped by the rental agency to reserve Cloud’s Rest for next Thanksgiving and the agent gave us some similar houses to look at nearer to the ocean.  The rain was supposed to be off and on but it was “on” all morning.  We were back at the house by 8:30 eating our scones.  I had half of mine and a slice of turkey breast.  Bob didn’t even need butter for his.  We spent the morning reading, playing sudoku and watching the short downpours to add to the inch or so we got yesterday and overnight.

We headed into town hoping to get in a short hike before having some lunch at Bones in Gualala but were thwarted by rain showers.  Bones is a bbq place that smokes and grills and does other tasty things to various meat and seafood.  It was hopping… guess we aren’t the only ones who want more than turkey!  Bob ordered a 1/2 order of kielbasa that came with a piece of corn bread and side of slaw.  I ordered 1/2 caesar without croutons, dressing on the side and house-smoked chunks of salmon.  I ended up using the HOT bbq sauce on the table as dressing — smokey and vinegar-y.  And hot!  It was delicious.  So was Bob’s.  We would both order what we got again.  Oh, and I got a Stella on tap!

While it was still raining, we drove around the other potential rental units.  One of them is on this lane that had a beautiful canopy of trees.  You can’t tell how hard was raining!

We got a break and walked the point in front of the Sea Ranch Lodge.  Saw a Blue Heron watching some critter but couldn’t get the phone out of my bag fast enough to get it.   The surf was pretty high and it brightened up for the first time all day.

There was blue sky and really windy and the temperature seemed to drop like a rock!  But we got a little hike in.

This guy was waiting for us next to the driveway when we got back to the house.  He /she and his mom are around the house a lot.

We played dominoes and watched football.  I had a DISASTER last hand and, while I am still winning, it’s by the smallest margin in about 10 years.  Seriously.  Then we read and played sudoku with a glass of the Skywalker Chardonnay until we started making dinner.  This is how we roll.

Dinner!! Leftovers Plus.  Bob:  mash potatoes, stuffing, turkey breast, gravy warmed in oven.  Me: turkey breast sliced with mushrooms, some sausage and lots of celery and onions from the stuffing with a little gravy warmed in the oven (we each make our own in small Le Creuset dishes).  Fresh oven-roasted cauliflower (olive oil, cumin, sea salt and pepper), re-warmed sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts.  Salad. It all tasted so good.  Again!  This was definitely the best turkey we have cooked.  Got rid of everything but the breast meat and we still have a fair amount left.  We realized we would not be bring the carcass home to make soup/stock.  Smart, yes???

The photo at the top was taken just before the clouds started rolling in in earnest about 4:30.  We watched Oregon and Oregon State while cleaning up then more reading, etc.  Bed by 10a… tomorrow we leave.

 (#turkeysfeelinglucky)

We woke up talking about leftovers…. seriously.  I was awake at 5a when I heard the fireplace go on… Bob thought he wanted to sleep more so I put on my sweatshirt and slippers and brought my electronics into the living room.   Read for about 1/2 hour (Tana French’s fourth book, The Secret Place.  Fantastic.) then started the coffee.  Bob got up and turned on the news.  We sat in the living room reading, etc til we semi-dressed (no shower, contacts, makeup — oh poor people encountered in Gualala) and headed to Trinks at 7:30.  Got two Americanos in our magical travel mugs from Cabin Coffee in Breckenridge that keep coffee HOT for hours.  Bob got a blueberry lemon scone to bring home.  Stopped by the market to get bread and salad stuff for later but — of course — we were too early and they had not re-stocked yet so just bought a chocolate bar (72% dark chocolate, fair trade with espresso beans because I really wanted a little piece last night with my glass of red wine after the dishes… and we forgot to bring from home.  TMI but whatever.  I am not ashamed.  Really.)

Got back to the house and made breakfast.  We always eat ‘2gether’ but differently.  Bob made two scrambled eggs with chopped up bacon, scallions, half and half and he warmed up the biscuits from yesterday and the scone.  He left it warming in the oven while I made an egg over easy that I had with salsa and a bite of scone (really good, full of blueberry and very lemony) and biscuit (still deliciously herby perfect for sopping up the yolk and salsa).  Bob had the scone and some biscuit.  We still have one biscuit left that, attempting to defy scientific principles, we re-wrapped to try tomorrow…

Our intention was to take a walk on the bluffs but it started raining way earlier than anticipated (10:00a) so we played Dominoes — fairly even until last game. I am still ahead but way down from the high.

Needing bread and lettuce, we drove the 7 miles into Gualala again and got some fresh fresh fresh sourdough from Ft. Bragg bakery but lettuce was meh so passed.  Pouring rain.  Yay. No walk.  Boo.

On our way back we saw these guys:

Bob wants this kind of lawnmower.

Got back to the house and made lunch.  We both changed our minds several times about how/what we wanted and, per usual, each made our own thing.   Bob: started with the leftover mashed potatoes in a ceramic serving dish and layered on some stuffing, sliced turkey, gravy and put it in a 450* oven for 20 minutes.  I had a slice of toasted sourdough with a schmear of cranberry relish and sliced turkey warmed with a little gravy to moisten everything and added some bits of sausage and celery from the stuffing.  We ate with a glass of Chateau St. Jean chardonnay and it was perfection.  Just as we each had hoped.  #leftoversrock.

We spent the rest of the afternoon reading and playing dominoes while watching Stanford beat UCLA. Thinking a lot about Dad who was diagnosed a year ago this week and was able to watch Stanford in the Rose Bowl; he didn’t even care that they lost miserably because his beloved tailgate pals came to him.  I miss him every day.

We intended to watch Game of Thrones tonight (finally!!) but the discs didn’t work.. so we caught up on Downton Abbey.  Love. Love. Love.

And dinner.  Leftovers again with some fresh additions.  Once again, doing our own thing. Bob made new mashed potatoes and warmed up turkey, stuffing, gravy.  I reconstituted the rest of the dried mushrooms and oven roasted the remaining fresh shitake and cremini mushrooms with coconut oil, salt and pepper.  Also roasted carrots and the remaining Brussels sprouts with coconut oil, sea salt and pepper.  Drained and chopped the reconstituted mushrooms and added them to some sliced turkey with a bit of the reconstituting broth.  Minced tarragon on the carrots and made a little salad of sliced cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes and parsley… yay.  It was so good I forgot to take photos….

Great day! No walk but it rained most of the day — even now at almost 10pm — so it’s all good!

Happy Thanksgiving!  Our favorite holiday.

We left the house at exactly 1p yesterday.  I got to work at 7:15a and left at noon.  It was Very. Quiet.  While I was at work, Bob hit Safeway, G & G and Harvest with our massive shopping list in hand.  I had packed up the kitchen, dominoes, wine, roasting pan etc etc etc the night before and it was staged by the utility room for loading into the car.

From our house it’s two right turns, two left turns and one more right turn 21 miles later onto Highway 1 to go north about 65 miles to Sea Ranch.  Stunning day, mid-60’s and sunny.  Hills getting green from the bit of rain we have had the past couple of weekends — more due this weekend (PLEASE!!).  In the first twenty minutes of our trip we saw 9 deer, hundreds of cows and sheep, a bunch (covey? flock? team?) of wild turkeys hanging with two huge sitting bulls and a bobcat.  We saw a dozen more deer on the rest of the trip.

Stopped at Tomales Bakery about 1:30 on the hopeful chance they would have something to sell besides their Thanksgiving orders.  Lo and behold, there were three herb biscuits left that Bob bought and saw as an omen.  The fabulous bakery, Two Fish, about a 1/2 mile walk from our rental (Cloud’s Rest — above) at Sea Ranch is closed for the weekend.  Bob had counted on getting their biscuits on Saturday (the only day they make them) and when he called on Monday to order them found out the distressing news of their closure.  Big smile on his face as we got back in the car.  Stopped at Lucas Wharf  in Bodega Bay at 2p to get some lunch.  Bob: crab louis with sourdough.  Me: house salad with chunks of house-smoked salmon.  Delicious! We each had a glass of OVZ Zin that we have enjoyed in the past.  We sat at the bar looking out at the sparkling bay.  Lovely.  And Bob thought of a great idea for a book/blog.  The wheels are turning.

Back in the car at 2:45 and a beautiful ride up the coast.  Only a couple of dorks (who puts on the brakes going UP HILL??  When you are pulling a humongous trailer at 25 mph in a 45 mph zone and there are Plenty of pull-outs with a line of 13 cars behind you, pull over. Please.) but we made good time and arrived in Gualala at 4:05p to pick up the keys and check out the supermarkets.  Bob got  a tiny lemon cheesecake at Trinks (closed tomorrow, open at 7:30a Friday) which is the Go To wifi coffee spot for the town with really good baked goods and lunch items.

Thought about having dinner at a new place, the Sand Bar, that has a beautiful view of the ocean, nice seafood-centric menu, full bar… but.  We knew once we got to our place we wouldn’t want to go out again.  So Bob got a ribeye and I picked up some broccoli and we headed the 7 miles south back to Cloud’s Rest.

We opened a bottle of wine, activated our new iphones (6 for Bob, 6+ for me that I was afraid would be too big but hoping that it would be easier on my failing eyes….already used to it!) and made dinner.  Grilled steak, baked potato for Bob, oven roasted sweet potato and broccoli and salad.  Fireplace blazing and windows open!

This morning we were up at 6a catching up on news and reading and playing sudoku in front of the fire as it got light.  Two deer snacking in our front yard.   Put Mr.  Willie Bird (thank you, GL) in its brining bath, made coffee, breakfast (Bob: two slices of bacon, fried egg over hard with the yolk cracked, warmed herb biscuit; me: one slice of bacon, egg over easy, leftover sweet potato, bite of biscuit: light, buttery sort of dry… pretty perfect).  Went into town to get a few things we forgot (even with lists!!!) and decided we ‘need’:  candle, matches, radishes, local Meyer lemon olive oil for the salad, a piece of vanilla bean cake, small oj for mimosas.  Back at the house by 9:30a.

The rest of the day/evening was bliss.

We started at 11:30 getting the turkey ready, rinsing, drying, paste of minced garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, fresh herbs (sage, thyme, parsley, rosemary), butter and olive oil under the skin and on top.  Put him on a bed of chopped onions, celery, carrots in the roaster and started him on the grill at 325* at 12:30.   Popped the champagne and leisurely prepped the rest of the sides while watching football and sipping champagne.  We snacked on a few Fritos (champagne and Fritos is a very underrated pairing), proscuitto and jalapeno havarti.  It was a stunning afternoon with just a small breeze and sunshine.

We sat down to eat at 5p, the strategy being to be done before the 49ers fell apart.  A very prescient plan as it turned out…. sigh.

Sliced turkey breast; stuffing (sourdough, mild and hot italian sausage, onion, celery, jalapenos, scant pepper jack cheese); oven roasted Brussels sprouts (olive oil, sea salt, red pepper flakes, bits of proscuitto); over roasted sweet potatoes (coconut oil, cumin, sea salt); mashed potatoes (sour cream, butter, parmesan cheese); cranberry relish (fresh cranberries, 1/2 c water, zest and juice from one tangerine, chopped jalapenos, 1 T sugar, minced parsley, scallions); cranberry jelly (can…seriously; Bob loves it); and salad.

This was the BEST TURKEY ever.  Moist, flavorful, beautiful.  The whole meal was perfect.  The Skywalker 2013 Chardonnay tasted wonderful as did the Petite Syrah, The Crusher.

I was happy to have a lot of leftovers and clean up to do while the 49ers sucked.  Bob played sudoku and tried not to be bummed out.

A truly great, relaxing and fun day.  It always seems like a lot of work but it’s so enjoyable to do it together.  It really is our favorite holiday.

Days Ten and Eleven

Saturday:  Breckenridge to Winnemucca  903 miles

Sunday:  Winnemucca to Novato  403 miles

Total trip: 3024 miles

We drove away from Breckenridge at 6:35a on Saturday after packing up the car and getting coffees to go.  Unbelievably clear skies – ha! and 36*.  Frost on the rooftops.  Beautiful drive through Colorado.

Our first stop was Frutta CO at 9:35a for another coffee and a doughnut for Bob.  We have stopped here two or three times on past trips.  The drive through Utah was more beauty though also more clouds.

Next stop was Delta UT for gas, water and lunch at Delta Freeze, another repeat stop.  We were there from 1:50 to 2:20 and it was bustling!  Bob had a burger and fries and I had a grilled chicken wrap with buffalo (spicy!) sauce.  We were starving so it probably tasted better than it should have.  I took this photo through the sunroof while we were getting gas.  We are listening to Inferno……this seemed to fit.

The drive through the Nevada desert on Hwy 50 was gorgeous.  Passed a windmill farm where all the windmills were actually spinning.

The sunset was amazing.

We arrived in Winnemucca at 7:52p (Bob was determined to make it by 8!) and checked into the Town House Motel where Bob had stayed on his way home from the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  It is owned by a lovely couple and very clean.  It is a 50’s type motor court style with two chairs and a little table outside every room and most everyone was sitting outside!  It was 75* and there was a nice breeze.  We dumped our stuff and took off for Ormachea’s, a Basque restaurant that was recommended by Anne-Marie, the motel owner.

It was fantastic!  We sat in the bar and Brian the owner/bartender made us good cocktails – back to plain old Chivas and a dirty martini.  Bob ordered a filet and I ordered the Basque chicken and included were… minestrone soup (delicious! I had two helpings), green salad, sides of green beans (ok but only had a bite) and pasta (didn’t touch) and a ton of french fries (could have eaten Every. Single. One. But refrained).  We barely made a dent in any of it and brought most of the chicken and the filet home.  We had the house burgundy and were as happy as clams chatting with Brian about the area, economy, etc etc.  We didn’t get back to the motel til after 10p and just crashed.

Sunday we packed up, got gas and were on the road at 6:35a again!  Our intention was to have breakfast at the Cowpoke Cafe in Lovelock and already knew what we were going to order:  Biscuit, scrambled egg and bacon for Bob and a poached egg and half a biscuit for me.  But when we got there at 7:30 it was closed.  arghhh….. And no coffee yet.  We continued on and thought about stopping for breakfast (and coffee!) in Sparks or Reno but all of a sudden the highway was full of Burning Man traffic — easily spotted by the layer of white dust covering everything.  We decided to just push on through.  At 10:30 we were passing through Sacramento and were on target to be home by noon.  Then at about 11:15 we hit traffic on Hwy 37 at Wilson Ave in Vallejo.  It was dead stopped.  We figured it must be an accident so turned around and got on I-80 to take the Richmond / San Rafael Bridge.  THAT was backed up to San Pablo!  WTF?!?  So we detoured into Pt. Richmond and had a lovely, unplanned lunch at Salute, on the water.   You can tell we were hungry, having had nothing but water all day:  Bob started with a caprese salad and then veal scallopini in lemon caper sauce with mashed potatoes and vegetables.  I had carpaccio and a grilled prawn salad.  We drank an entire carafe of water and two glasses of Montepulciano.

Got back in the car at 1:45, put on the book and didn’t stress about the traffic.  Took us 45 minutes to get onto and over the bridge but then it was fine.   We arrived home at 3p to find the raccoon(s) had done more damage to the front lawn but everything else looks good.  Great, great trip.

Day Nine

Breckenridge to Meadow Gulch Trailhead and back via Frisco  45 miles

Woke up to SUNSHINE!  Walked down to coffee with computer and iPad so we could work, read there for a little while.

While we were there, we got the sad news that Bob’s best friend and mentor passed.  It had been a long time coming so there is some relief but we are sad.  Two years ago this week we were here when our dear friend Michael Cleary died.  RIP all of our loved ones, family and friends.

Bob has been dying for a crepe from the French bakery and since they don’t open til 8a we lingered more than usual over coffee.  Bob is also trying to figure out a route home tomorrow.   The crepes were perfection.  Bob had a lemon custard with raspberries and powdered sugar.  I had a classic ham and cheese and asked they please use half the normal amount of cheese.  It couldn’t have been a better ratio of buckwheat crepe to ham to cheese if I had been looking over the guy’s shoulder.  I wolfed it down while it was still hot and melty.

We decided to hell with the weather — big dark clouds all around and some sprinkles off and on — and went to take a hike that we passed going to and from Aspen.  It is called the Meadow Gulch Trailhead and is a short but pretty steep ascent up to ruins of a cabin that was used when they mined up there.  We had some sun but big rain clouds all around.  The peaks got snow last night, as we predicted after pedaling in the freezing rain yesterday.   Bob got some great photos.

We stopped in Frisco for lunch at the 5th Avenue Grille on Main Street.  Wish it was in our neighborhood!!  Really nice owner/manager and bartender.  We sat at the bar and Bob got the last order of fish and chips.  I ordered a beet salad and we both had a glass of Hob Nob Pinot Noir that we got to know at Le Mon Ami Gabi, the restaurant we love at Paris in Las Vegas.  The fish and chips were stellar.  I had a big bite and it was perfect.  Bob said the fish and chips at the funny little restaurant in Bishop  that we found totally by accident — we were turning around to check out another place we had passed, also a Friday in August, 4 or 5 years ago — came closest to being as good as these.  The bartender said they sell out very quickly — we there just after noon.  The beet salad hit the spot: very fresh red leaf and butter lettuce with still-crunchy beets, matchstick carrots, goat cheese and an orange vinaigrette that had a lovely spice of cumin or something.   The dinner menu was good too and reasonable.  Frisco is probably 10% cheaper than Breckenridge and about 10 miles away.

Walked around the town one last time before showering, last check of email before our offices shutdown for the weekend and headed out for our last night of Breck Happy Hours.

And we sort of blew it.  Though it started out very happily at Modis.  Happy Hour meant $3 off $12 cocktails — pages of them! — and also $3 off wines by the glass.  They have a fantastic, eclectic wine list that we have enjoyed before.  We were introduced to The Prisoner (and Orin Swift) at Modis several years ago.   We decided to have a cocktail.  Bob ordered a Moda Antiqua: tequila, grapefruit bitters, agave nectar, oranges and Luxardo cherry, muddled; served over ice.  Another one to make at home!  I had a pretty drink called The Day Walker: vodka, Domaine Canton (ginger) and watermelon juice served up with a cilantro sprig.  Starts sweet and then the ginger kicks in, very refreshing.  A word about bitters.  Modis had at least a dozen different kinds/flavors.  Herbal, floral, spicy.

From Modis we wanted to go to Briar Rose but it was SRO with several people who looked like they had already been standing for some time.  We miscalculated the incoming Friday afternoon crowds on a three-day weekend.  We headed up the hill to Hearthstone only to find that the entire upstairs bar/happy hour area had been bought out for a private party.  Ugh.  Really??

We went down the street to Southridge where we had been a few years ago and enjoyed the seafood apps.  Bob got a Chivas ($1 off cocktails and wines but the glass) and I had a Estancia Unoaked Chardonnay.  We didn’t feel like ordering anything — still bummed that it was almost 6p and we had busted on Happy Hour plan!  We did have a fun conversation with a feisty little widow who was at the bar drinking a martini when we sat down next to her.  She has a house in Palm Springs, Breckenridge and her main residence on Bainbridge Island.  She drives herself between them with her Shitzu Max, listening to books on tape.  We traded book titles.

We couldn’t decide what we wanted for dinner.  Walked back along Main Street that was packed.  Ended up at Taddeo’s which is near the Hyatt and is the Hyatt’s room service option.  It used to be really good.  But.  We sat at the bar with sort of a dopey bartender whose answer or comment to everything was Right On.  We split a caesar salad that was drowning in dressing but did have fresh anchovies.  The bruschetta was decent chopped tomatoes, basil and garlic with a little balsamic but the toast was limped.  I scrapped the tomatoes off and added them to a little of the salad.  Bob ordered the chicken parmesan that looked good and came with some very tasty haricots verts.  Bob said it was good not great.  I ordered the tower of eggplant.  The description was a stack of eggplant and mushrooms topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella.  I asked them to hold the mozzarella except for a sprinkling which they did.  However…. the eggplant was breaded and fried — I probably should have guessed; once I picked off all the breading the eggplant was good as were the mushrooms and the sauce but my plate looked like a wreck and it wasn’t worth the effort for a few bites.  Sigh.  A couple of glasses of decent Chianti were the highlight.

We walked back to the room sort of bummed to have messed up the logistics of our last night but we were more bummed to be leaving.  Started packing for a long day of driving tomorrow.

Day Eight

Breckenridge to Vail Pass and back 22 miles by car, 15 miles on bikes

We were up and out to get coffee at 7a.  Raining… after raining all night long  with some thunder, too.  Turns out the woman who is the founder of Cabin Coffee was raised in Minnesota and her parents have a cabin on Gull Lake near Brainerd.  I, of course, had on my Camp Birchwood jacket so we talked Minnesota summers.  From coffee we walked back up to the Blue Moose Cafe, across from the Hyatt to fuel ourselves for the bike ride.  Bob ordered the Minturn Loop: two pancakes, two eggs cracked over hard, sausage links.  I had three sides: a poached egg, vegi chili (basically thick salsa with loads of peppers, a good thing) and black beans.  All good.

Went back across the street and layered up for the ride.  It is raining and 46*.  Cannot see up the mountain due to low clouds/fog.  Ha.

Went around the corner to Mountain Wave where we got fitted on bikes and picked up helmets.  All the bikes have names.  Bob got Steve McQueen and was so happy.  I got Tom Cruise.  Gross. Tom. Cruise.  Whatever.  We followed the trailer with the bikes — we are the only two nut jobs today due to the weather.  We parked our car at Frisco and rode in the van up to I-70, exit 190, Vail Pass and the beginning of the bike path.  It was pouring.  We got dropped off and took off.  It was pretty steep down to Copper with lots of switch backs (you lose about 2000′ from Vail Pass to Frisco) and raining .  Thank God we got gloves, our fingers were still freezing.  It took about 35 minutes to get down to Copper — we were being pretty careful because path was so wet with so many puddles.  Such a nice, smooth path!  From the Pass to Copper Village, the path follows a gorge between I-70 East and West.  We stopped in the Village for a cup of coffee to thaw a bit.  We went into a bar called Alpinista and they gave us two big cups of coffee and wouldn’t let us pay.  We must have looked as cold and bedraggled as we felt!  We left $5 on the counter anyway.  Coffee was good and hot!

Looked in a few shops — not much going on this time of year.  Bob bought some good, local dark chocolate and we each had a square. We were still cold and it was still raining but after about 1/2 hour we took off for the second half of the ride.

This photo is looking back up at Copper Mtn and from whence we came.

Here is Bob at the same spot, beginning the second 7 miles of the path to Frisco.   It was that dark at 11:30 in the morning.

This is what we were starting.  The path followed a creek the whole way and was absolutely gorgeous even though we were freezing and wet.

Stopped about 3 miles in to take are first and only (and undoubtedly last….) selfie.

The last part of the path.  Mountains go way way up but… can’t see!

We flew down to Frisco!  I was physically shivering so badly on the last 2-3 mile stretch that my bike was wobbling.  Locked up the bikes and got in the car about 12:45.  We were seriously freezing and wet so cranked up the seats to high and the heat to 85*.  It wasn’t a strenuous ride by an measure but it was fun and exhilarating flying down the path.  And wet.  And COLD!  But we would do it again tomorrow.

We found the Butterhorn Bakery and Cafe on Main Street in Frisco for some lunch.  It was quite busy and we had to wait about 10 minutes — by a heater, yay.   Just standing at the entrance we could tell it was going to be good with mounds of fresh baked goods and cakes and five soups of the day.  We were seated and immediately both gulped down a glass of water.  Bob ordered a grilled cheese with ham and tomato, a side of potato salad and a pickle.  I had a cup of black bean soup and spinach salad.  Soup was full of mushrooms, carrots, onions and celery and was even better with the housemade Habanero sauce added.  Salad was very fresh with sunflower seeds, walnuts, tomatoes, red onions and balsamic vinaigrette.   I had a bite of Bob’s HUGE sandwich (he barely ate half) and it was perfect toasted, buttery bread with melty cheese.  And he got a slice of cake to go….

We stopped in the new Whole Foods in Frisco to get some fill-ins for dinner at home tonight.  Three slices of bacon, heirloom tomatoes, bread, shallot, lettuce……  It was raining and 46*!  Dropped our helmets off at the bike place and we could not get in the jacuzzi fast enough.  There are three right outside the fitness center and no one was there.  We let the heat envelope us while it was raining on our heads.  It did warm us up though!  Showers and quick email catch up in the room in front of the fire.

We were hoping to catch some of the 16 football games that were being played so headed out to Eric’s, a sports bar that has a bazillion tvs.  But they only had on the Texas A&M/S. Carolina and tennis.  What??  Bob had a Dewar’s (no Chivas…) and I had a Breckenridge Brewery Amber — really good and cold but could only drink half.  #eric’sFAIL.

Went back to the room to make dinner and watch the Broncos/Cowboys.  Bob had leftover filet and made some garlic toast with the pesto mozzarella from our lunch the day before.  I crisped up bacon and shallots for …. Bueller? Bueller?  yes, Charlie Palmer salads.  This time with romaine and heirloom tomatoes.  We tend to do this… latch on to a new dish we both love and make it til we tire of it.  This salad is perfect for our limited facilities and pantry.  I warmed up three more pieces of pizza.  Probably the last time … I managed to eat 4 + 3 + 3 = 10 slices and there are still 6 slices in the fridge.  It was a big-ass pizza!!!